1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telephones and is particularly concerned with a device having timed means for causing the switch button of a telephone to be depressed and the switch to be opened at a predetermined time after the switch has been closed by removing the hand set from its supporting cradle.
2. Prior Art
Telephones generally comprise a telephone base having a number selector in the form of a dial or a pushbutton assembly and having a cradle for resting the telephone hand set including the receiver and transmitter. At least one switch operating plunger or pushbutton is mounted on the telephone base and arranged to be contacted and depressed by the hand set when the hand set is resting on the cradle, thereby opening the switch, but rendering the instrument able to receive incoming calls.
It is often desirable to disable a telephone against incoming calls when, for example, a person wants a period of undisturbed sleep, when he wishes to engage in some activity during which period he does not want to be bothered by incoming phone calls, and in places of business, as for example, pizza houses, to disable the phone for a predetermined period when the workers cannot keep up with orders. It has been conventional to remove the hand set from the cradle, thereby closing the switch, and preventing incoming calls. However, this practice has many drawbacks, since it is quite common for persons who remove the hand set from the cradle to forget to return it. Moreover, it is often inconvenient for a person to return the handset to its cradle because of various activities which cannot be interrupted for this purpose. Various devices have been developed in the prior art for disabling and reactivating telephones. However, they have invariably been complicated and expensive and not always reliable.